# Integrated Genomics of Mucosal Infections

> **NIH NIH U19** · BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE · 2024 · $9,954,734

## Abstract

OVERALL PROJECT SUMMARY
This renewal application requests the continued funding of our Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (GCID)
in the Texas Medical Center (TMC) which comprises a multidisciplinary, integrated team of basic and physician
scientists at Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health, MD Anderson
Cancer Center, and Rice University. The TMC-GCID: i) leverages our decades of experience in genomic
sequencing technology with our renowned clinical expertise, and the use of novel ex vivo organotypic
models of human intestinal and pulmonary function, to create a platform for large scale genomics-based
interrogation of host-mucosal pathogen interactions in the context of human tissues, and ii) utilizes this
platform for the discovery of novel therapeutic and diagnostic targets based on host and microbial
genomic and transcriptomic profiles. Project 1 (PL: A. Maresso, PhD) will build on discoveries made from
dissecting genomic elements of pathogenic members of the Enterobacteriaceae that associate with human
intestinal mucosa colonization and translocation. Project 2 (PL: R. Atmar, MD, S. Ramani, PhD and T. Piedra,
MD, PhD) will continue integrated analyses of human norovirus and respiratory syncytial virus full-length genomic
sequences and characterization of the ecological niche of samples from clinically relevant patient sub-groups for
new understanding of viral replication, recombination and evolution, induction of disease and host factors
required for susceptibility to infection and pathogenesis. Project 3 (PL: M. Lorenz, PhD) will examine the impact
of commensal Candida albicans on gut health and susceptibility to disease. Surprisingly little is known about the
genetic diversity of C. albicans isolated from the gut (as compared to those isolated from the skin, for example).
Mapping the fungal-host-microbiome interplay in relevant gut niches using the latest genomic, metagenomic and
metatranscriptomic technologies will greatly improve the understanding of how commensal fungi can influence
gut homeostasis. Project 4 (PL: P. Okhuysen, MD) will build on a novel Cryptosporidium discovery made by the
project leaders and test the hypothesis that one or more indole-producing commensal microbes in the gut can
prevent or eliminate Cryptosporidium infection. All four research projects will continue to utilize human intestinal
and lung organoid cultures along with niche-specific, defined microbial communities supplied by the Organoid
and Minibioreactor Array Cultivation Core. Meanwhile cutting edge, high-throughput sequencing strategies and
technologies and the latest analysis tools and outputs will be supplied, and disseminated, by the Sequencing
Analysis and Resource Dissemination (SARD) Core. The result will be a comprehensive genetic profiling of hosts
and microbes in human infection models that will reveal pathogen genetic variants, and individual host response
phenotypes to inform precision medicine-...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10855860
- **Project number:** 2U19AI144297-06
- **Recipient organization:** BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Mary Kolb Estes
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $9,954,734
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2019-04-15 → 2027-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10855860

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10855860, Integrated Genomics of Mucosal Infections (2U19AI144297-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10855860. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*